The Woman Who Died
The rain had not stopped for three hours.
Emily Carter stood beneath the awning of the private hospital entrance, staring through the glass doors as nurses hurried past with their heads lowered.
Her hands were shaking.
She couldn’t feel her fingers anymore.
Maybe it was the cold.
Maybe it was shock.
Or maybe it was because the woman lying beneath a white sheet inside the hospital was the other half of her soul.
Her twin sister.
Victoria.
Emily pressed one hand against her mouth, trying desperately not to cry.
She had already cried until there were no tears left.
The words the doctor had spoken twenty minutes earlier kept repeating inside her head.
“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”
Everything.
Such a useless word.
Emily slowly closed her eyes.
Victoria had been alive that morning.
Alive.
She had called Emily while Emily was making coffee.
“Don’t forget tonight,” Victoria had teased. “You’re coming to see me before I leave for the hotel.”
Emily had laughed.
“How could I forget my own sister’s wedding?”
“Not my wedding.”
Emily had smiled.
“Your contract marriage.”
Victoria had gone quiet for a moment.
Then she had laughed softly.
“Exactly.”
That had been the last conversation they ever had.
Now Victoria was dead.
And tomorrow morning, she was supposed to marry Alexander Blackwood.
The billionaire.
The man whose name appeared on magazine covers, business channels, and financial websites.
Alexander Blackwood owned one of the largest technology companies in the country.
Blackwood Technologies.
He was young, devastatingly wealthy, and notoriously private.
Three years ago, his life had changed forever.
His fiancée had supposedly died in an accident.
Not long afterward, Alexander disappeared from the public eye.
But somehow, he had returned stronger.
Colder.
More powerful.
And now he needed a wife.
Not for love.
For a contract.
His grandfather’s inheritance had one condition: Alexander had to be married before his thirty-fifth birthday or control of the family company would pass to his cousin.
Victoria had been chosen.
And tomorrow was the wedding.
Emily’s stomach twisted.
She looked toward the hospital corridor.
A nurse approached her.
“Miss Carter?”
Emily looked up.
“Yes?”
“There is someone waiting for you in the consultation room.”
“Who?”
The nurse hesitated.
“Your father.”
Emily’s heart sank.
She followed the nurse.
Her father sat in a wheelchair beside the window.
Richard Carter looked ten years older than he had that morning.
His shoulders were bent.
His face was pale.
When he saw Emily, his eyes filled with tears.
“Emily.”
She rushed toward him.
“Dad.”
He grabbed her hands.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Richard whispered, “She’s gone.”
Emily broke.
She collapsed against him.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I’m your father.”
“You didn’t kill her.”
His lips trembled.
“But I couldn’t protect her.”
Emily pulled away.
“What happened?”
Richard looked toward the closed door.
“Not here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone might hear us.”
Emily stared at him.
“Dad, what are you talking about?”
Richard swallowed.
“Your sister had enemies.”
“Victoria?”
“She discovered something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know everything.”
Emily’s voice hardened.
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Before Richard could answer, the door opened.
A tall man in a dark suit entered.
Emily recognized him immediately.
Alexander Blackwood.
He looked exactly like the photographs.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Black hair.
A sharp jaw.
An expression so controlled that it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
His eyes were hidden behind dark glasses.
Emily stared at him.
Why was he wearing sunglasses inside a hospital?
Alexander stopped several feet away.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
Emily’s throat tightened.
“You knew my sister?”
“I was supposed to marry her tomorrow.”
The words hit her like another blow.
Tomorrow.
The contract.
The money.
Her father’s treatment.
Everything Victoria had arranged.
Everything was gone.
Alexander turned toward Richard.
“Mr. Carter, I know this is difficult.”
Richard looked frightened.
“I need to speak with you.”
Alexander nodded.
His assistant, Daniel Reed, appeared behind him.
“Mr. Blackwood, we should leave.”
Alexander ignored him.
Instead, he looked at Emily.
“Miss Carter.”
She met his gaze.
“Yes?”
“Your sister told me about you.”
Emily’s heart stopped.
“What did she say?”
“That you were very different from her.”
A bitter smile touched Emily’s lips.
“She was right.”
Alexander studied her.
“She said you were the practical one.”
Emily looked away.
She could not stand there listening to him describe Victoria.
Not now.
Not when her sister’s body was only a few rooms away.
Alexander’s voice softened.
“I understand if you don’t want to discuss anything tonight.”
He turned.
Emily thought the conversation was over.
Then he stopped.
“However, there is something important.”
“What?”
“The contract.”
Emily stared at him.
“My sister is dead.”
“I know.”
“So the marriage is cancelled.”
Daniel shifted uncomfortably.
Alexander’s expression remained unreadable.
“Not necessarily.”
Emily stared at him.
“What?”
“My grandfather’s condition does not say I must marry Victoria Carter specifically.”
Richard’s eyes widened.
Emily’s heart began pounding.
“What are you saying?”
Alexander removed his sunglasses.
For the first time, Emily noticed something strange about his eyes.
They were unfocused.
Almost empty.
But before she could think about it, he said:
“The contract requires me to marry a Carter daughter.”
Silence.
Emily looked at her father.
Richard looked away.
Her stomach dropped.
“No.”
Alexander continued.
“The payment will be made immediately after the marriage.”
Emily shook her head.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Your father’s medical bills are substantial.”
She froze.
“How do you know about my father’s bills?”
“Victoria told me.”
Emily looked at her father.
His face had gone pale.
“Dad?”
Richard didn’t answer.
Alexander took one step toward her.
“You can refuse.”
Emily wanted to.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to run.
But then she looked at her father.
The oxygen tube.
The hospital bracelet.
The fear in his eyes.
The doctor had told her only hours earlier that they needed money for treatment.
Without it, things would become much worse.
Alexander spoke quietly.
“Tomorrow morning, the marriage can still happen.”
Emily stared at him.
“You want me to marry you?”
“Under the contract.”
“While you believe I’m Victoria?”
His silence was answer enough.
Emily’s chest tightened.
This was insane.
It was immoral.
It was impossible.
But then she remembered her father’s face.
She remembered Victoria’s last phone call.
And she remembered how her sister had always protected her.
Emily slowly looked at Alexander.
“What happens if I say yes?”
“You receive the money.”
“And you?”
“I fulfill the condition of my inheritance.”
“And after one year?”
“The contract ends.”
Emily swallowed.
One year.
She could survive one year.
Couldn’t she?
Alexander extended his hand.
“Do we have a deal?”
Emily stared at his hand.
Then she thought of her sister.
I’m sorry, Victoria.
She placed her trembling hand in his.
“Yes.”
Alexander’s fingers closed around hers.
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But Emily felt it.
He had noticed something.
His thumb moved across her knuckles.
Then he whispered:
“Victoria…”
Emily flinched.
Alexander became completely still.
For one terrifying second, neither of them moved.
Then Emily forced a smile.
“Sorry.”
Alexander’s eyes remained fixed on her face.
“Why did you flinch?”
Emily pulled her hand away.
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“I’ve had a difficult day.”
He studied her for another moment.
Then he nodded.
“Of course.”
But when he walked away, Emily could not shake the feeling that he already suspected something.
She looked at her father.
“Why did you let him think I’m Victoria?”
Richard closed his eyes.
“Because tomorrow, Emily, you are going to marry Alexander Blackwood.”
Emily’s heart sank.
“And after that?”
Her father looked at her with an expression she couldn’t understand.
“After that,” he whispered, “we pray the truth doesn’t kill you.”
